Armenia, Sonsonate
Armenia ( Guaymoco ) on the map of El Salvador
Armenia (formerly Guaymoco ) is a municipality in El Salvador in the department of Sonsonate. It is located in the north-east of Sonsonate on the border of the departments of La Libertad and Santa Ana.
Name
There are two attempts at interpretation of the name Guaymoco, also Guaymucuz: Pedro Geoffroy explains the Nawat name Weymuku as a " place of great stoning " from the Nahuatl roots huey ( wey ) "large", motla " stony " and the locative -co ( - ku ). Jorge Lardé y Larín other hand, leads the Nawat name Waymuku as " site of the Temple of frogs " on the roots guay ( way) "frog", mumuz, short form mu " temple " and the locative -co ( -ku ) back. A generally accepted explanation for the invented in the 19th century, the name Armenia does not exist.
History
The old Huaymoco (or Hueymoco ) was founded by the Pipil, also situated in today's municipality of Armenia Miahuatlan. At about 1200, the area came under the rule of Cuzcatlán.
The Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado adopted on 6 June 1524 a Miahuatlan. After completion of the conquest of the Pipil Empire Cuzcatlán Guaymoco belonged to Alcaldía Mayor de Sonsonate. The Pipil of Miahuatlan and other places were located in a central location that is mentioned since 1576 under the name Guaymoco or San Silvestre Guaymoco. Main crops were cocoa, Bálsamo, corn, chili and bush beans.
1770 lived in Guaymoco according to the priest José Joaquín Castaneda 236 indigenous families with 790 persons and 147 Ladino families with 710 persons together so there was 383 families and 1500 inhabitants. These languages as their native language predominantly Nawat ( Pipil ), but in addition also Spanish.
1824 Guaymoco came to the department of Sonsonate. It was at this time in 1609 inhabitants, 94 houses with roof tiles and 151 with thatched roofs.
1859, the municipality decided to get rid of the indigenous name and named the place in San Silvestre to Armenia. Nevertheless, the old name was still a long time used on. 1885, the sole name of Armenia ( without Holy Name ) was valid.
Already in the mid-19th century began, some landowners growing coffee.
On September 9, 1919 Armenia became a city under President Jorge Meléndez.
Attractions
In the territory of the municipality, south of the village Armenia, lies the mountain Nanahuatzin. Here in ruins from before the Spanish conquest. In the area of Azacualpa west of Armenia, the ruins of the area Miahuatlán lie.
Pipil culture today
The Pipil language Nawat is virtually extinct due to the severe repression since the genocide of the Pipil 1932. The school in the municipality of Santa Teresa Armenia participates in a teaching project Nawat, in place since 2003.